A/HRC/22/59 53. The Al-Ghutah area east of Damascus has been the scene of confrontations between Syrian armed forces and anti-Government armed groups during the reporting period. On 31 October, the entire area was subject to heavy aerial bombardment resulting in considerable civilian casualties. A civilian nurse from Zabadani in western Damascus governorate noted that the many civilians injured in November and December 2012 were victims of sniper fire. 54. Such conduct violates the principle of distinction and amounts to a violation of international humanitarian law. Further investigation is required to determine how such orders were conveyed and implemented within the chain of command. However, there exists a prima facie case that the war crime of attacking civilians was perpetrated, and that the individuals who were responsible for ordering the attacks and military commanders who carried them out are individually criminally responsible for the commission of this war crime. 55. As noted, attacks by bombardment (whether aerial or by shelling) on a neighbourhood, which treat as a single military objective a number of clearly separated and distinct military objectives located in a neighbourhood containing a concentration of civilians or civilian objects, is “area bombardment”, which is inherently indiscriminate and in violation of international humanitarian law. D. Idlib governorate Al-Habit 56. The town of Al-Habit, the western part of which was occupied by FSA elements, was shelled on 28 July by tanks positioned at nearby checkpoints. According to residents of Al-Habit and witnesses to the attack, the shelling targeted only the western part of AlHabit, indicating that the Syrian military was selective in its targeting. The shelling, however, killed civilians who were in their homes in the western part as well as those who were out on the streets. The attack was conducted at 15:00 after the Dhur prayer. Among those killed and injured were women and children. One interviewee described how bodies of 8 and 10 year old children were strewn about the area. 57. During the attack on Al-Habit, army helicopters fired at the streets of the town in order to prevent movement, killing civilians who were attempting to escape the shelling. The shelling of Al-Habit was notably intense. One interviewee stated that in one day, 48 shells landed within a one-kilometre perimeter, raising the spectre of area bombardment and indiscriminate attack. Taftanaz 58. Five consistent accounts were received relating to the intense shelling and aerial bombardment of Taftanaz, which began in July and continued throughout the month of Ramadan. Most of the residents of Taftanaz fled, unable to find shelter from the shelling and airstrikes within the town. One interviewee, a former resident of Taftanaz described the situation, stating, “It is like a ghost city. From 20,000 inhabitants there are hardly some 200 people left in the city.” Snipers were positioned around Taftanaz, particularly on the road leading to the airport, which led to the deaths of civilians. One account described how a woman was shot by a sniper and bled to death on the street. Persons attempting to assist her were also injured by sniper fire. 59. Sniper fire, as the direct targeting of individuals at a distance using small calibre weapons, is highly accurate. There is evidence to suggest that civilian victims of sniper fire have been deliberately targeted, a war crime. 96 GE.13-10627